Sunday, October 25, 2009

Trying to Find My Stride

Decent week of running with just under 5 hours of running and a total distance of 50km. Out of that, about 30 minutes were in the Vibram Five Fingers.

Today, I went back to Rattlesnake point and ran a different section of the Bruce trail. I ran a total of 13.2 km in about 90 minutes. The section I ran wasn't as challenging as last week, but it was still really nice. I think that section will be really good for snowshoing, later this winter.

I felt really good today. I've been working hard on my stride for the last month and I think all that work is paying off. I ran in my Crosslites and they felt like they were painted on my feet. Tap, tap, tap, tap. I've noticed that my foot strike is way cleaner than before. It used to be much louder. Now, I constantly try to strike under me instead of ahead, with a strike that doesn't break my forward motion.

My Crosslites have close to 700km on them and the lugs are getting real short. I'm going to need a new pair soon. I might buy them 1/2 a point larger so I can wear thicker socks in them this winter.

I got some more of my Rock and Ice mandatory equipment this week. I got a Garmin eTrex H GPS. I brought it with me today actually and used the "Backtrak" function and it worked pretty good. I also got

a compass,

down camp booties,

a pair of Katoola Microspikes,

a small cooking pot,

a fuel bottle (and some fuel)

and a lighter.

I tried to get some good boots (I need a new pair anyway) but they didn't have a good selection yet in my size.

Yesterday I tried my MSR Whisperlite stove. Good thing I tried it outside because I would be homeless. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that a Whisperlite can be lit while upside down. I was wondering why my pot wouldn't sit securely on top of the stove. Mystery solved. I don't want to talk about this anymore.

Today I also tried my new (well, used) tent. It looks great and I couldn't see anything wrong with it. It even had the footprint.

I'm thinking that next Saturday, I'm going to head out to Rattlesnake Point and camp overnight. I might do a short night run on Saturday and then my long run on Sunday morning. I could play with all my new equipment and try some of the food I want to bring to R&I. I'll see how that jives with the family.